Man not deemed a violent offender

After the court determined last week that a Cortez man was not a violent sexual offender, he was ordered to undergo six years of intensive sex offender treatment.

Handed down by District Court Judge Todd Plewe on Thursday, Feb. 20, the sentence also ordered Glen Rivas, 51, not to have any contact with minors, including family members. Incarcerated for nearly 190 days, Rivas was given credit for time served and ordered to a six-month stay at a Durango treatment facility.

“I have a problem with porn,” Rivas reportedly told the victim’s father, according to court documents.

Court records reveal that Rivas admitted to touching and taking photos of the minor child. The victim’s age was redacted from court files.

Despite the court’s punishment, the victim’s mother testified at sentencing via telephone that her family would never be the same.

“Nothing is going to make this better,” she said.

Rivas was initially charged with nine felony sex offenses stemming from crimes committed last June, July and August, according to court records.

In November, he pled guilty to a single count for attempt to commit sexual exploitation of a child and a single count for attempt to commit sexual assault on a child, avoiding a maximum 18-year prison term. The other charges were dismissed as a result of the plea agreement.

Plewe said there was nothing he could do as a judge to assist the victim’s recovery.

“The lady you violated will have a more difficult life because of what you did,” Plewe told the sex offender.

District Attorney Will Furse said that he was disturbed that Rivas attempted to conceal his crimes by destroying the cell phone used to commit the offenses.

The phone, which was never recovered, was reportedly smashed and thrown into Totten Lake, court records reveal.